Parthiv retires from all forms of cricket

New Delhi: Wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel on Wednesday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

In a social media post, Patel said he is "bringing the curtains down on an 18-year-long cricketing journey".

Patel, who made his international debut at the age of 17 in an away Test series against England in 2002, played 25 Tests, 38 ODIs and two T20Is for India, his last international appearance coming in team's famous Test win in Johannesburg in January 2018.

He was also part of the squad when India won their maiden Test series in Australia in 2018-19.

"On this day, as I pause and reflect to assess how far I have come, the biggest wish I have is for my father to have been standing beside me, at the closure of my journey as a cricket player, as he has through most of my life and career," Patel said.

Apart from playing for India, Patel led Gujarat to the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2015 as he scored a match-winning maiden List A century in the final against Delhi.

The left-handed batsman scored over 11,000 runs in 194 first-class games, with 27 centuries and 67 half-centuries.

In the Indian Premier League, the 35-year-old played for six franchises in total. He was part of three title-winning teams - Chennai Super Kings in 2010 and the Mumbai Indians in 2015 and 2017.

In total, he played a total of 139 IPL matches, scoring 2848 runs with the help of 13 half centuries. He was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad in 2020 but was not included in the playing XI for a single game as the team preferred to use AB de Villiers as their first-choice keeper and also used Devdutt Padikkal as opener.

Patel called his first Test captain Sourav Ganguly a "leader in true sense" along with the legendary Anil Kumble and said their influence in his life went beyond the cricketing arena.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, under whom Parthiv Patel made his international debut, has said that the former wicketkeeper-batsman has always a team man and a brilliant ambassador for Indian cricket.

"His hard work has earned him laurels in international and domestic cricket. I congratulate him on a fantastic career and wish him the very best for his future endeavours. His performance in the Ranji Trophy final to win Gujarat their only title will always be remembered in the history of Gujarat cricket," the BCCI president added.